March 08, 2008

Almost as Good as New York Bagels

Since arriving in the Bay Area we've been on a quest to find an authentic New York-style bagel. The offerings at Noah's New York Bagels don't even come close--an insult compounded by the fact that Noah's trades heavily in New York imagery inside its stores. (Then again, Subway sandwich shops don't have much in common with NYC either.)

Through the Yelp grapevine we learned about Berkeley Bagel (which is actually in Albany, CA). This morning we made a northern pilgrimage to the bagel shop, because Helen refuses to ride the bus.

Once we arrived--almost an hour later--I was hungry. My original idea was to get a sesame seed bagel toasted with butter, just like I used to get on most Saturday mornings at the Bagel Mill. However, Berkeley Bagel charges 10 cents for the toasting and 50 cents for the butter! Irrationally, then, I decided I might as well get a breakfast bagel...even though it cost more than my original humble idea, it didn't seem like that much more after all of the add-in costs were factored in. Helen also splurged, relative to our former habits, and got a bagel with strawberry cream cheese.

I'm pleased to report that the bagels were big and authentic--if not quite as hearty as the fare at Bagel Mill. As Helen says, at least they "have the right idea" up there at Berkeley Bagel of Albany.